Everyone at the Cotillion, it seems, is related by one long, winding thread of grand Old Guard heritage.

And Saturday a new bumper crop of 23 young ladies, scions of historic San Francisco families, made their formal bow to society as they twirled beneath the glass-topped dome of the Palace Hotel's Garden Court at the Cotillion Club of San Francisco's 71st Debutante Ball.

"If you go to enough Cotillions, it's like the odometer on your car turning over," he said with a laugh. "And we're all teenagers again."

And though stalwart Cotillion patrons Rhoda and Jackson Schultzsat this soiree out, Rhoda was on the phone the next morning to receive glowing reports. Even bandleader Heckscher got on the horn.

"We had a good laugh when I reminded Earl that he played when I debuted back in 1945," she said. "I joked that he must've only been 2 years old then because I think I've been going to this party forever."

Like many families, the Schultz ladies are generational debutantes: Their daughters, Rhoda, Roxanna and Robin, took their twirl in the '70s. And the Schultz granddaughters, Rhoda and Christina Regalado, made their debuts in the 2000s.

"The Cotillion means so much to so many people," enthused Mrs. Schultz. "And during uncertain times like these, it's wonderful to have one night that's a great family tradition."